Sustainable Materials Management Flashcards
7 cards from real CPWM practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Sustainable Materials Management flashcards as text
Which federal regulation most directly incorporates SMM principles by requiring manufacturers to consider end-of-life management during product design?
Answer: Extended Producer Responsibility legislation
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation shifts end-of-life management responsibility to manufacturers, incentivizing eco-design that reduces waste and facilitates material recovery.
In the context of SMM, what distinguishes 'downcycling' from 'upcycling'?
Answer: Downcycling results in lower-quality output material; upcycling results in higher-value products
Downcycling produces lower-quality or lower-value materials from recycled inputs, while upcycling transforms waste into products of greater value or quality than the original.
A packaging manufacturer seeks to reduce its environmental footprint using SMM principles. Which action provides the greatest systemic benefit?
Answer: Lightweighting packaging while maintaining recyclability and recycled content
Lightweighting while maintaining recyclability and incorporating recycled content addresses multiple lifecycle stages simultaneously — reducing extraction, energy use, and enabling circular material flows.
What is the primary function of a 'material flow analysis' (MFA) in sustainable materials management planning?
Answer: To quantify how materials move through economic and natural systems over time
Material flow analysis quantifies the flow and stock of materials through a defined system (region, economy, or product system) to identify waste hotspots, inefficiencies, and circular economy opportunities.
The concept of 'resource efficiency' in SMM is best measured by which indicator?
Answer: GDP generated per unit of material consumed
Resource efficiency is commonly expressed as GDP or economic output per unit of material input (material productivity), showing how much value is generated relative to material consumption.
Which waste management tier in the EPA's hierarchy would apply to a program that converts non-recyclable plastic film into diesel fuel through pyrolysis?
Answer: Energy recovery
Pyrolysis of plastics to fuel recovers the energy content of materials rather than their material value, placing it in the energy recovery tier of the waste management hierarchy.
A city's SMM plan identifies construction and demolition (C&D) debris as its largest waste stream by weight. Which strategy would most effectively reduce this stream?
Answer: Deconstruction ordinances requiring salvage before demolition
Deconstruction ordinances require selective dismantling before demolition, enabling high-value material recovery of lumber, fixtures, and architectural elements that would be crushed in standard demolition.